Of Kindred Spirits
by Grey Alchemist
Summary: Follow-up to The First Seventy Two. A series of one-shots that detail the evolution of Chuck and Sarah's relationship.
1. The Talk

_**Author's Note:**_ I know what I said but I've been thinking about this for a while and finally decided to go ahead with it. This is a follow up to _The First Seventy Two_. This is going to be more like a series of one-shots that, together, will tell an overarching story. Also, this won't have much of a plot. It's just an excuse to write light, fun snap-shots of an evolving relationship, really.

***Update:** If you're just reading this for the first time, please ignore all Author's Notes from here until chapter 5. Originally, this story was set up to jump around in time, but that was no longer working for me. It was getting hard to let the story flow. So I went ahead and moved the chapters around so they're in chronological order. That's why the A/N's would probably not make sense you, and probably the reviews for the first 4 chapters won't either. I don't know if those automatically switch around or they stay the same.

**_You may have guessed:_** I don't own _Chuck_.

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_**The Talk**_

_September 29, 2007_

_12:00 am_

Chuck lay on his side of the bed staring at the ceiling. His good arm was under his head while his cast-laden arm rested on his stomach. In the past week and a half his life had drastically changed and he wondered if he wasn't in way over his head, especially when it came to the woman lying next to him. He wasn't sure whether she was asleep or not but he didn't dare look over. Even though she'd said they would have a talk at some point, it hadn't happened yet and after the incident with Zarnow and the whole having accused her of trying to kill him and his sister fiasco, things had been awkward to say the least.

The world of distrust these spies seemed to live in was so far removed from his own. That was the world Sarah lived in, she wasn't the normal woman he thought she was when he first met her. She had been Bryce's partner and that didn't help any. The thoughts that brought about, added with the stress of his new-found reality, got to be too much and, admittedly, he may not have reacted well. Chuck felt bad and he'd wanted to apologize but with the cameras and Casey being around all the time he hadn't had the chance to do it properly. That, of course, all led to moments like the one he currently found himself in where they had to maintain the cover relationship while not knowing where they stood in their actual non-cover one, if they were even in one at that point. He sighed deeply in frustration.

Sarah lay on her side, facing away from Chuck. She knew he was awake but couldn't bring herself to turn around. Everything had been so good between them for those first couple of days when they met. They were the first real happy moments she'd had with anyone else in years. She knew they needed to talk but she'd never been one for talking, let alone being the first to do so. She'd been angry that Chuck hadn't trusted her and thought she could have actually killed him but after she thought about it, she couldn't blame him. After all, he was new to her world, he didn't know how things worked; and, even if just for a few fleeting moments, she hadn't trusted him either because of his connection to Bryce. She'd soon realized there was nothing there but a past friendship but by that time there was a strain between them and fixing things wasn't turning out to be easy. She heard his deep sigh. This was the best, and maybe only, time they would get to talk freely in the foreseeable future. She had to force herself to speak up.

"Chuck?" She spoke softly but didn't turn around.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" He turned to face her but looked back to the ceiling when she didn't move.

"No," she answered, "but we do need to talk."

"Now?" he whispered. "What about the cameras?"

"They're off," she replied. "I'm in charge of your security this weekend, remember?"

"Right, so Casey's not watching? Nothing's being recorded?"

"No. It's just you and me."

"Oh... okay." Finally they get some time alone together and it comes at such a murky time. It'd be so much better if Chuck knew whether he could even touch her or not. He waited for her to start but after a few moments nothing else came. "Sarah?"

"Yeah?"

"You said we needed to talk?"

"Right." She didn't know exactly how to start. This wasn't the kind of thing she was good at.

"How 'bout I go first?"

"Yeah, okay." It was a relief for her not to be forced to address their issues first.

"I'm really sorry about the way I acted," he began. "I know I should've given you the benefit of the doubt but it was just too much for me to handle and I got scared."

"It's okay, Chuck." Sarah still didn't turn to face him. "I _was_ mad, but I'm not anymore. I know how it must have looked like to you and I can't blame you for the way you reacted."

"Still, I'm sorry... I should've trusted you more."

"Yes, you should have," she mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing. Go on."

"Okay. It's just... when I first met you I thought you were this girl in trouble with those two guys, you know?" He spared a glance over to her. "And then, as it turns out, you're this bad-ass CIA Agent." He shook his head in the dark. "It was harder to accept than I thought it would be and, in the confusion, I forgot about the amazing girl I got to know."

"Well, I may have forgotten about the wonderful guy I met for a while there too," she offered.

His head snapped to the left. "What? What does that mean?"

"Well, I'm a spy, Chuck. We just happen to meet at the same time that Bryce is running around stealing the Intersect and getting me suspended, and you just happen to be the guy he chooses to send it to, what was I supposed to think?"

"That I was just a nerd at a bar bored out of his mind?" He answered. "And also, that for whatever reason, that damned Bryce Larkin keeps screwing me over?" He looked over at her quizzically. "Seriously though, how much of a threat did you think I was? I mean, I broke my hand on the first punch I threw."

She scoffed. "You didn't break anything."

"The cast says otherwise," he argued.

"The cast says Ellie babies you too much," she retorted. "Anyway, after Bryce sent you the Intersect, I couldn't be sure you weren't just pretending to be who you said you were and weren't using me for whatever reason."

"And now?"

"Now I'm sure that you weren't lying to me," she assured. "But I've been trained to question people's motives. It's what's kept me alive this long." She changed the direction of the conversation. "Look, we're both sorry about the misunderstandings, right?"

Chuck nodded in agreement, then remembered she wasn't looking at him. "Oh, right," he voiced.

She finally turned to look at him and offered her hand. "What do you say we forget about the whole thing and just get some sleep? We can continue talking later."

Chuck scooted over to her. She took his hand and wrapped it around her midsection as she spooned into him. "Ooh, that's kind of cold," she said as the cast made contact with her stomach.

Chuck grinned. "How's this?" He pulled the blanket over her and then placed his arm over her once again.

"Much better." A moment later Sarah spoke again, "When are you getting that thing taken off, by the way?"

"I'm hoping in a couple of days, but you know Ellie."

Sarah chuckled. "Yeah. She's quite something. Good night, Chuck."

"Night, Sarah." He gave her a small squeeze, then shut his eyes. For the first time in days he went to sleep with a smile on his face.

**-0-**

_September 29, 2007_

_8:15 am_

There was a chill in the air when Chuck awoke. He found himself still wrapped around a sleeping Sarah and grinned. This was the way he much preferred to wake up. Now that they'd talked about the rough start to their new dynamic they could get on with figuring out how to handle their relationship going forward. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and lifted his head to look out the window. It was raining. That explained the chill he was feeling. He inhaled deeply; it was invigorating and oddly refreshing. Of course, it could've been that for the first time in two weeks they could just be Chuck and Sarah, two normal people. No spy-related anything to impose on them. He gently moved from under the blanket and got out of bed. He readjusted the blanket securely around Sarah and made his way to the kitchen. Cereal and orange juice definitely didn't qualify as a fancy breakfast in bed but it was the thought that counted, he figured.

The smell of pancakes and bacon coming from the kitchen let him know Ellie was awake. He smiled as he walked into her line of sight. "Morning, sis." She was dressed in her hospital scrubs.

"Hey, Chuck." She smiled back. "You're just in time."

"For?"

"I have to leave for my shift. I made some breakfast for you and Sarah, I already put away some food for Devon, so don't worry about him," she started. "I was going to knock on your door to let you know but I didn't want to wake Sarah up, now I don't have to," she said as she moved from around the counter. She grabbed her things and headed for the door. "I'll see you guys later?"

Chuck nodded. "Thanks for breakfast, El." It looked like Sarah got lucky, so did he. Chuck moved to grab a couple of plates when Ellie closed the door. He loaded them with pancakes, bacon, and eggs. The buttered toast was all him. He poured two glasses of juice and loaded everything on a breakfast tray, along with some syrup.

He made his way back to his room. The smell of the warm breakfast woke Sarah up. She smiled when she saw Chuck carrying the tray of food over to her side. "Wow... breakfast in bed," she started, "I didn't know you could cook like this."

"I can't," he admitted. "You have Ellie to thank for all this; I was planning on cereal and juice," he said as he placed the tray over her lap. "Good morning." He leaned in and placed a small kiss on her lips.

"It sure is," she replied with a bigger smile.

Chuck grabbed a chair, placed it next to the bed, and sat down. "What do you say we eat breakfast and go back to sleep?"

"Chuck, I'd love to do that but—"

"But what? We have the day off from work. There's nothing going on with our _other_ job," he started, "It's raining outside, we have the place to ourselves until this afternoon." He paused for a moment before stating emphatically, "No cameras and no Casey, Sarah. When is that going to happen again?"

"Well, when you put it that way." She reached with her hand and brought him in for a deep kiss. "How can I resist?"

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_**Author's Note:**_ I can't blame it on writer's block or lack of time because I knew what I wanted to write and I actually had plenty of time to write. A couple of things happened though, one about a week and a half ago, the other this past week. The latter was the straw that broke the camel's back. Not only did I not want to write anymore, I didn't want to read either. I forced myself to read two updates. Thursday was the low point. I was angry all day. To the point of wanting to take my stories down, but not before posting one last chapter just so I could write a scathing A/N. Good thing I'm not an impulsive guy. I've calmed down, read a new chapter of _Fake_ _Empire_ and _Say_ _something_ by **minirix**. Really re-energizing. I'm ready to write again.


	2. Not Expected, Never Welcome

_**Author's Note:**_ Sorry that I couldn't follow through on that Regenesis update. I need to be in a certain kind of mood when I write my other stories and, unfortunately, something happened that knocked me off that mood before I was done writing the chapter so now it'll have to wait until later in the week. Luckily, that's not the case for this one. All I need is an idea, of which I have a couple, and off I go. So, in the meantime, here you go:

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_**Not expected, Never Welcome**_

_Bartowski/Woodcomb Residence_

_November 23, 2007_

_1:45 pm_

"So... that happened."

The two walked into the apartment. Ellie and Devon had been called in for an extra shift because of the Black Friday spike in injuries.

"You don't have to be so smug about it, you know," Sarah said as she stepped in front of Chuck.

"What? Who's being smug?" Chuck asked, not being able to keep the grin off his face.

"That stupid look on your face says you are," Sarah informed him.

"I thought you liked my face?" Chuck feigned hurt.

"Oh, shut up." She headed towards the couch where she planned on settling in for a long while.

Chuck laughed. "Okay, I'm sorry," he said, still chuckling. "But I did tell you he'd try, didn't I?"

**-0-**

_CIA Holding Facility_

_November 22, 2007_

_10:00 am_

"_That's_ what I almost got blown up for?"

"It wasn't a bomb, moron," Casey begged to differ. "That means you were never going to get blown up."

"I didn't know that at the time, now, did I?" Chuck argued. "There's a principle involved here."

"Please," Casey dismissed, "boo-freaking-hoo."

Before the discussion between the two could go any further, Sarah intervened, "Chuck, focus. We brought you here for a reason."

"Right, sorry. What was that again?"

"He says he won't talk to anyone but you," Casey growled, obviously annoyed by the lack of cooperation.

"Don't you guys have ways of dealing with this sort of thing?" He looked over both of them. "You know..." he punched the air a couple of times, "or maybe..." he brought his hands to his throat in a choking motion, "Agh! Agh!—Like that?"

Casey contorted his face in reproach of Chuck's antics, while Sarah tried her hardest not to give in to the smile that was fighting its way out. "Quit it, you idiot," he said. "Not that it's not an appealing thought but aren't you always bitching about us _not_ doing that sort of thing?"

Chuck looked at Casey. "Normally, yes... but in this case, I think I can make an exception," Chuck answered.

"Chuck!" Sarah admonished.

"What? I was kidding," he said to pacify his girlfriend, "... mostly... I mean, a punch or two couldn't hurt, right? I know it would make _me_ feel better," he couldn't help but add. Sarah narrowed her eyes at him.

Casey had to admit Chuck had a point; he could stand to knock Larkin around some. "Sorry to disappoint, Rocky, but we've been ordered to hold off on that. Beckman told us to bring you in first and see if you can get anything out of him."

"Hmm... probably just wants to throw a few more insults my way before he gets locked up forever," Chuck offered. "Or maybe he wants to see the damage his little email caused."

"Either way, you're going to have to talk to him," Casey said as the elevator doors opened. He immediately stepped out of the elevator and walked ahead of Chuck and Sarah.

They reached the room Casey was standing in front of, looking in through the two-way mirror located there.

"Okay, wait out here. When I give the signal, send Chuck in." Casey opened the door and moved into the room.

After a few moments, Chuck leaned over towards Sarah and whispered. "You know he's going to try to get you back, right?"

Sarah looked over at Chuck incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"Bryce, he's going to make a play to get you back," Chuck insisted.

"That's crazy. There's no way that's happening. Even if I wasn't with you, the way things ended between the two of us..." she shook her head not being able to see how such a thought could ever come across Bryce's mind.

"Wanna bet?" He said, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

"How are you so sure?"

"I was his friend and roommate for years, remember?" Chuck looked into the room. "He's way too calm in there, especially considering that the man that shot him is sharing the same room and he's restrained," he observed. "Bryce is up to something and I'll bet anything it includes you."

Sarah couldn't argue because Casey motioned for them to come in.

Chuck stepped into the room, which caused a grin to appear on Bryce's face. Sarah followed close behind and the grin gave way to surprise.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" His eyes were wide.

"My job," she answered curtly.

"Hey! Pretty Boy," interrupted Casey, "let's get this show on the road. Bartowski's here, so talk."

"Sorry, Casey. I'm talking to Chuck and _only_ Chuck. That means the rest of you have to go," Bryce smiled smugly.

"That's not happening, Larkin," he growled.

"Okay!" Chuck clapped his hands together. "You heard the big man. Good to see you buddy. Take care," he said, turning to leave. "Gotta go."

Sarah grabbed him by the shoulders and turned him back around. He frowned at her. "Chuck, behave."

"You heard what Casey said."

"He said we're not leaving you in here alone, not that you could go," she indulged him by clarifying.

"Fine," he gave in. Sarah smiled at him.

Bryce watched the exchange and, if he didn't know any better, he'd swear there was something going on between the two of them. He shook the thought; that was just crazy.

Casey started speaking. "We don't have time for this. The moron has the right idea. Either you talk right now or we're out of here and you'll be the proud new occupant of a nice, dank cell," he threatened.

Bryce could tell Casey's patience had worn thin and he wasn't playing around anymore. If he wanted back in, he'd have to talk now. "Okay, fine. I'll talk."

**-0-**

"And you're sure about this?"

"Yes, ma'am," Casey spoke into the phone. "The Intersect confirmed what Larkin told us."

"Very well, I'll inform Director Graham about this and he can decide what to do with him," she said. "In the meantime, you need to keep an eye on him. That means you just found yourself a roommate, Major."

Casey growled at the thought.

"What was that, Major Casey?"

"I said: yes ma'am, understood."

"Good. Oh, and Major?"

"General?"

"Try not to shoot him... that would be hard to explain this time around."

He sighed dejectedly. "Yes, General," but she'd already hung up.

He walked back into the room and spoke. "Okay, you pain in the ass, you're coming with us."

**-0-**

"Wait, I'm staying with _you_?" Bryce asked. "Sorry, Casey but you're not exactly my first choice for a roommate. I'll just stay with Sarah," he said grinning.

Sarah's eyes snapped to stare blankly at Bryce.

Before she could say anything Casey stepped in. "When did I give you the impression you had a choice, moron?"

Chuck coughed to cover the laugh making its way out of his throat; when Sarah turned to look at him questioningly, he nodded slightly towards Bryce and then dipped his head in affirmation of his earlier proclamation. Sarah scrunched her features mockingly then turned to once again look front and center.

The doors of the elevator dinged open to reveal a man with a scar over the left side of his face. The flash instantly hit Chuck.

"Tommy," Bryce spoke, slightly shaken.

Chuck came out of the flash. Lips slightly parted, teeth held together, he spoke in a sing-song voice, "Fulcrum..." not wanting to alert the Fulcrum agent standing right in front of them.

Tommy looked back and forth between the people in the elevator. Any excitement he might have felt at finding Larkin was short lived as he saw the angry and hostile expression come over the large man's face. He knew he'd been made and turned to get the hell out of there as fast as he could.

Casey drew his weapon and shot off a round, hitting Tommy right on his left butt cheek. He grunted in satisfaction.

"Agh!" Tommy fell to the ground, where he placed a hand over his wound.

"Oh!" Chuck cringed in sympathy at the sight before him. "He shot him in the ass!" He turned to Sarah.

"Yes, Chuck. He did," she said as they began walking towards the fallen Tommy.

"He's lucky I didn't kill him," Casey interjected.

"He's lucky General Beckman ordered you to bring one or two in alive for interrogation," Chuck corrected.

"Same difference," Casey shrugged. "Now, you are going to wish I _had_ killed you," he said to Tommy as he was picked up off the floor by two other agents that had arrived. "Get that patched up and then lock him up. We're going to have some fun with this one," he said smirking.

"Yes, sir," the agents acknowledged in unison. They cuffed him and dragged him away.

"Can we head home now?" Chuck inquired. "I still need to do some shopping for Ellie's Thanksgiving dinner tonight. You do _not_ want to see how she gets if I don't get everything on that list." He shuddered at the thought.

**-0-**

_Casey's apartment_

_November 22, 2007_

_1:48 pm_

They had snuck Bryce into Casey's apartment, making sure no one who could recognize him saw him come in. That would be disastrous. By the time they'd made it to Casey's, Graham had been made aware of the new information. He'd called in with instructions for Bryce.

"Yes, sir, I understand," Bryce assured. "I'll be ready." Then the call was over.

"So? How long am I stuck with you?" Casey started immediately.

"Relax, Casey. I'll be out of here tomorrow," Bryce responded. "Graham is sending a team to take me back. Apparently I'm not completely back in yet. All we need is a safe place to meet and then I'm gone," he grinned smugly.

"The Buy More's Black Friday sale is on tomorrow, lots of people are going to be around," Chuck said. "You can hide in the crowd until you're sure it's safe."

"We have to be there anyway," Casey remembered sourly, "might as well use it to our advantage."

Bryce turned to Sarah. "You could come with me," he started, smiling widely. "I'm going to be back in the field again in a few days and I'm sure Graham wouldn't mind pairing us together again. Just like old times, what do you say?"

"I say I have my assignment and Chuck and I have some shopping to do, see you around Bryce." She grabbed Chuck by the arm and dragged him out the door.

Casey lit up a cigar and blew the smoke all over Bryce's face. "Stay," he commanded and headed towards the door himself.

Bryce was left alone to stare at an empty apartment.

**-0-**

_Bartowski/Woodcomb Apartment_

_November 22, 2007_

_7:53 pm_

Chuck was on his way back from the bathroom when he was pulled into his room. He found himself face to face with Bryce.

"What are you doing in here?" Chuck hissed.

"I need to talk to Sarah, Chuck," Bryce pleaded. "Can you just tell her to come in here? Please?"

Chuck sighed heavily. He knew the kind of talking Bryce had in mind. He was about to tell Bryce he could go screw himself but he figured Sarah had to be the one to tell him to take a hike. Otherwise, he would just keep popping up all over the place trying to get to Sarah. "Wait here." He turned and headed back to the table.

**-0-**

He stopped as he reached the table. "Crap..."

"What?" Sarah spoke.

"I left my phone in my room earlier."

"So?" Ellie didn't see the problem.

"I'm the on-call Nerd-Herder tonight, I need it in case someone calls," He explained.

"It's Thanksgiving, Chuck. Who's going to call? And why you?"

"Luck of the draw," he shrugged. "Sorry, sis, that's the life of a Herder."

"I can go get it for you," Sarah volunteered.

"Really?"

"Sure," she smiled as she stood.

"Thank you." He went in for a hug. "Bryce is in there, waiting to _talk_ to you," he whispered. He released her and nodded affirmatively. "You know, I can get the phone..."

"No, please," she said as she placed a kiss on his lips. "Let me."

**-0-**

Sarah stepped into the dark room and Bryce dropped from the ceiling behind her. "Sarah." he took a step toward her. "I've missed you." He closed his eyes and started moving for a kiss.

Sarah panicked and did the only thing she could think of. Instead of meeting her lips, Bryce met her fist as it connected with his mouth and split his lip open.

"Sarah, what the hell!"

"_What_ _the_ _hell_? What did you think you were doing just then?" She said harshly, trying to keep her voice down. "I came in here to tell you to back the hell off_._ Leave me alone, Bryce. I'm not interested."

Casey burst into the room, followed by Chuck. "Sorry, Sarah. He kinda figured something was up." He then saw Bryce's bleeding lip. "Guess he was right."

Casey pulled out a small, thin silver cylinder. "What part of _stay_ didn't you understand, Larkin?" He tapped the bottom of the cylinder and a dart shot out, knocking Bryce out almost instantly. The side of his head hit the doorknob on the way down.

"Ooh... That's going to leave a mark."

Casey moved to pick up the body. "I'll be back. Just gonna go deposit this sad sack somewhere secure," he said as he moved out the window.

Once he was out of sight, Chuck moved closer to Sarah. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You okay?"

"Perfect." She placed a hand on the back of his head and brought him in for a kiss.

"I _knew_ there weren't any phone calls," Ellie said, standing just outside the door. "You two can wait until after dinner for that, come on." She grabbed them and started dragging them back. "Where's John?"

**-0-**

_Buy More_

_November 23, 2007_

_11:00 am_

"Come on, Larkin and Walker, together again," Bryce tried to entice.

"Damn it, Bryce." Sarah was exasperated. "Get it through your over-gelled head: There is no Larkin and Walker. I am not interested," she emphasized each word.

"Whatever you say, Sarah." He was smug as ever. "But we'll always have Omaha." He turned to leave with Graham's team.

"Sure, why not." Sarah waved it off.

"What did he mean?" Chuck asked her when she walked over to join him.

"Who knows and who cares?" She shrugged. "He's always trying to sound smarter and more mysterious than he is. Can we just go? This whole thing has been exhausting."

"I think I can sneak off without anyone noticing," Chuck nodded.

**-0-**

_Bartowski/Woodcomb Residence_

_November 23, 2007_

_1:46 pm_

Sarah fell face-first onto the couch and groaned from exhaustion.

Chuck sat on the edge and began massaging her back. "How's this for an apology?"

She groaned again, this time from pleasure. "Good start."

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_**Author's Note:**_ Thank you for the reviews for the previous chapters. They're really great to receive and read. I hope you enjoyed this one as well. That update for Regenesis is still coming.


	3. Learning Curve

_**Author's Note:**_ If you're still reading, Thanks for sticking around. Originally this was chapter 1 but I moved it around. So, now, here goes the new chapter 3:

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_**Learning Curve**_

_December 15, 2007**  
><strong>_

Casey burst through the exit on the roof, Chuck hot on his heels. The latter was running faster than he had run in recent memory.

"I hate you so much, Casey!" He exclaimed to the back of the bigger man's head as he ran across the rooftop. "You said this was going to be easy," he accused as he reached the Major.

"Man up, Bartowski," Casey replied as he pulled himself into his harness. "Don't tell me you don't feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins," he countered as he threw the rope over the side of the building. "There's nothing else like it."

Chuck began putting on his own harness. "Of course I do, but that's not the point," truthfully, he had begun liking the rush he got from going on missions but he was not going to admit that to anyone. He threw his rope over just as Casey had done moments before. "It just would've been nice if someone had told me people would be shooting at me today. I could've worn a vest or something," he exclaimed.

"And blow our cover as soon as we walked in here?" Casey retorted. "Moron. Think about it: when is someone _not_ trying to shoot us during one of these things?"

Casey had a point there, Chuck thought. He was about to speak up but the roof door burst open again and the guys that had been chasing them started to file through, guns drawn.

Casey was instantly on the move. "You know what you were just saying about me telling you things?" He asked with a devious smirk on his face.

Chuck didn't like his tone of voice.

"Well, Bartowski," he offered, "brace yourself, 'cause this is gonna hurt."

Chuck's eyes widened instantly. "Ugh!" Casey tackled him, sending them both over the edge of the building just as bullets started whizzing by.

Chuck felt as if he had been free-falling through a bottomless pit, his stomach was doing flips, his heart was racing. His trip came to an abrupt end as the harness ran out of rope and he was slammed into the side of the building, driving his shoulder hard into the wall. He heard Casey let out a grunt at the same time he groaned from the impact.

Chuck hadn't fully recovered when Casey pulled out a knife and cut both ropes, dropping them the remaining couple of feet to the ground. "Run, moron!" He urged Chuck.

Chuck didn't have to be told twice. He burst into a sprint and made for the waiting van that had pulled up in front of the building. The side door slid open and Chuck dove in, followed by Casey. The van tires screeched as the rubber burned against the ground and then the van shot forward.

Casey turned onto his back, pulled out a remote and pressed the red button. A second later a shock wave rocked the van as the building was blown into a million pieces. "God, I love C-4," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Chuck was wide-eyed yet again. "Dude! You blew up the building?" He shouted, observing the giant ball of fire that remained in the lot through the back window of the van. "Isn't that overkill? I mean, I had already wiped their servers."

"No such thing when it comes to Fulcrum," he said, getting up and moving into the front seat.

Chuck was about to reply when Sarah beat him to the punch from the driver's seat. "Well, that seems to have gone well," she remarked sarcastically, looking at him through the rear-view mirror with slightly narrowed eyes. She turned to Casey, "Are you guys okay?"

"Just some scrapes," Casey grunted just before he proceeded to pop his shoulder back into place.

Chuck cringed when he heard Casey's low growl. "_I_ may need some ice," he called from the back seat. "And probably some heavy duty pain killers... oh, and how about a day or two off?"

"Shut it, moron," Casey spoke. "You'll be lucky if you can get Walker to kiss your boo-boo all better."

Chuck grinned at the thought. Sarah however did not. "Fat chance," she said, once again looking into the mirror with narrowed eyes.

Chuck had no idea what he'd done to upset Sarah but, clearly, she was upset about something; which meant he would have to rack his brain until he figured out what to apologize for this time.

**-0-**

_Casey's apartment_

_Echo Park_

_5:30 pm_

The rest of the ride had been spent in silence. Sarah concentrated on driving, keeping her eyes locked on the road in front of her. Casey closed his eyes and seemingly went to sleep, which boggled Chuck because his shoulder was killing him and his hadn't been dislocated as far as he could tell. Chuck laid down on the backseat of the van and let his body turn to jelly. He would _definitely_ been feeling all this physical exertion tomorrow.

They were standing in Casey's living room waiting to video-conference with General Beckman and Director Graham.

"Major Casey, report," the General started as soon as they appeared on screen.

"The information was good, General," Casey informed her. "The building really was a Fulcrum hub."

"Were you able to get anything?" Graham wanted to know.

"Bartowski managed to download all the files they had stored there before we were made," he said. "He wiped the server on our way out, so they lost everything they had."

"Good. Send us the information as soon as you can," Graham ordered.

"Anything else?" Beckman chimed in.

"Well..." Casey hesitated.

"Well, what?" Beckman lifted an eyebrow.

"General," Sarah took over, "Casey kind of blew up the building as we were making our escape."

"_Kind_ _of_?" Beckman glared.

"Completely," Sarah corrected.

"Major Casey, what the hell were you thinking?" Graham scolded.

"I was thinking that building and everything it stood for was a threat to national security," he defended. "Besides, if the Fulcrum agents had given chase and caught Chuck, they would've had themselves an Intersect. I don't think anyone here wants that," he finished.

"Major," Beckman called for his attention, "next time, try to be a little more conservative in the way you deal with Fulcrum. We can't afford for you to be making a spectacle of things and drawing attention to this operation."

"Yes ma'am," Casey nodded. "I understand."

"Good," Beckman answered. "I'll be expecting your full report."

The screen turned black and it was just the three of them in Casey's living room again.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," Casey said, moving to his kitchen. "Now, get out."

"Always the gracious host," Chuck joked as he and Sarah made their way out. Suddenly he remembered Sarah's mood and decided that, for once, he wouldn't mind spending some more time in Casey's apartment.

**-0-**

_Chuck and Sarah's apartment_

_6:00 pm_

The walk across the courtyard was much too short for Chuck's liking. He was dreading what would happen as soon as they were out of the cameras' unblinking eyes.

As soon as he closed the door to the apartment, he felt Sarah's fingers close around his ear and pull him down to her level. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" He felt the sting of her nails digging into his ear. "Sarah honey, that hurts, seriously!"

"Don't _honey_ me, Chuck!" She yanked on his ear. "What the hell was that earlier?"

"What was what?" He said, grabbing for her hand.

"You jumping from that building like that," she yanked once again. "You were supposed to _repel_ not dive off! What the hell were you thinking?"

"Not much, actually," he tried to joke. "Ow! Okay, okay. That was all Casey, I swear." She had a surprisingly strong grip when she wanted to.

"Go on..."

"The Fulcrum guys caught up with us and he pushed us over the edge right before the bullets started flying, I had nothing to do with it," he pleaded. "In fact, I had just been telling him to warn me about that sort of thing, so really, you should be mad at him," Chuck argued.

Sarah let go of Chuck's ear and sighed. She brought a hand to caress the side of his face and spoke, "I'm sorry, but you know how I feel about you putting yourself in unnecessary danger."

"I know." He smiled warmly at her. "But nothing happened, Sarah. I'm fine," he assured her.

"That shoulder says otherwise," she challenged, giving it a small squeeze.

"Mmm... okay," he gritted. "So maybe my shoulder hurts a bit." Then an idea popped into his head. "You know, I'm pretty positive that it would make me feel a lot better if you gave it a little kiss." He waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, I think I can do a little more than that," she whispered into his ear, her hot breath sending all kinds of tingly feelings through his body. His eyes shut as he enjoyed the moment.

"Yeah... that's—that's good, " he managed to mumble in response.

She grabbed his hand and led him toward the bathroom. "Come on, Chuck, let's get you patched up," she said. "Then we'll see about making you feel better... I think we still have some oils left over from last time."

Chuck thought back to the last time they had given each other massages and promptly picked up the pace, the pain in his shoulder suddenly seeming like nothing more than an itch.

* * *

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_**Author's Note:**_ Good news: (well, I'm presuming) Chapters of _Recalled_ and _Regenesis_ coming this weekend. This was easier to write and it would just not leave me alone 'til I wrote it out, so it came out first.


	4. Ultimatum

_**Author's Note:**_ I went back and made a bit of a change to the first chapter. I kind of forgot this wasn't a total AU and I couldn't just write whatever I wanted to. I have to stick to a general chronology. I don't really know when this took place in canon, but since I've already given it a date in _Recalled,_ I'll use the same one here.

* * *

><p><strong>-0-<strong>

_**Ultimatum**_

_September 28, 2008_

_3:15 pm_

For the second time in three days Chuck found himself being dangled off the side of a building by his ankles, just waiting to plummet to his death and this time he wasn't sure Sarah or Casey would reach him in time. It was not one of his finest moments.

"I'm seriously getting tired of this!" Chuck spoke frantically.

"So hand it over and we can be done with it," Mr. Colt suggested.

"You'll let me go?" Chuck asked hopefully.

"Sure."

"I meant with all my limbs in tact," Chuck amended.

"Oh, well," Colt bobbed his head from one side to the other. "To be honest, I'ma drop you."

"See, this—this is what I'm talking about," Chuck stammered. "We've got to work on your negotiation skills!"

"I've got all the negotiation skills I need right here," he responded, giving Chuck a shake by the ankles.

"Okay! Okay!" Chuck quickly shouted. "How about this: how about you pull me back up and we discuss this like two rational adults?" He countered.

"_Or _I let you drop and watch you splatter all over the pavement."

"Oh come on!" Chuck protested. "Why doesn't anyone ever try killing me with kindness? It might work... you don't know. I'd certainly prefer it."

"You are really annoying, Carmichael," Mr. Colt shook his head. "I think I'd rather just be done with this whole thing," he moved to let Chuck go.

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"If you kill me, my girlfriend is going to be _really_ pissed," Chuck warned. "And, trust me, you don't want to piss her off."

"Freeze!" Sarah called out from behind Colt.

"Let me guess, the girlfriend?" He said as he looked over his shoulder towards Sarah. "Guess we'll see how pissed she gets." He let go of Chuck and turned when he heard Sarah scream.

Down below, Casey caught Chuck by a hand as he free-fell to the ground.

"Oh! Thank god!" Chuck exclaimed as he dangled in the air. "Casey... you _are_ always there to cat—" He suddenly found himself racing towards the ground once again. "Oomph!" He landed, hard, inside a dumpster full of trash stationed by the side of the warehouse.

"What did I tell you about that?" Casey called out gruffly to Chuck down below.

"Right...got it. Sorry!" Chuck groaned out from inside the dumpster. Casey was already racing up the fire escape on his way to the roof.

Chuck pulled himself up and stumbled out of the dumpster. He groaned as he hit the ground.

He watched as Sarah and Casey's support team appeared from around the corner.

"Hey," he called out. "I'm Agent Carmichael, follow me," he instructed them. "We need to get to the roof."

**-0-**

_September 28, 2008_

_3:25 pm_

Chuck sprinted up the stairs and arrived on the roof just as Casey and Sarah were being surrounded by Colt's men.

"Okay," Chuck started, slightly out of breath, "let's try this again."

"Chuck?" Sarah felt relief wash over her like never before.

"Meet my men," he said gesturing to the team pouring out of the roof door. "They're itching for some gun play; I suggest you put those guns down unless you want a bullet through your forehead." He turned his gaze on Mr. Colt. "Tell me something, do you find them imposing? Go ahead, you can be honest," Chuck taunted him with his own words, "I was going for imposing."

Mr. Colt smirked at Chuck's antics, clearly impressed. "Your boss, Carmichael, he's good," he declared. Casey contorted his face in disgust at the thought as he started to cuff him.

Sarah wanted to race to Chuck, but she knew she couldn't do that in front of all these people. Instead, she walked over in as restrained a pace as she could. "Chuck, I— Do you have the cipher?" She quickly changed her approach.

Chuck shifted his gaze to Sarah and smiled when he saw the relief on her face. "Of course I do," he answered as he lifted his arm and handed the cipher over. He caught a whiff of the odor he was now giving off. "Ugh," he gagged. "Oh god, I need a shower... bad." He looked at Sarah again. "I'm— I'm gonna go and let you guys take care of all this," Chuck motioned over the scene with his hands. "I'll see you at home, okay?"

"I'll try not to take too long," Sarah answered, quietly.

Chuck turned to leave before stopping and turning back to look at Mr. Colt. "Before I go, _you_, buddy, are way too damn big!" He called out. He turned back around, shaking his head. "Seriously, who needs to be that big?" Chuck mumbled to himself as he gently rubbed his chest where Colt had pushed him to send him through the glass window.

As soon as he was out of ear shot, Sarah pulled out her phone and dialed Graham.

"Do you have the cipher?" He asked by way of greeting.

"I do," Sarah confirmed confidently.

"Good, then—"

"Just a moment, Director," Sarah interrupted him.

"What?"

"There's something we need to talk about," she elaborated.

"What would that be?" He asked curtly.

"Chuck."

"What about him?"

"I know what have planned and—"

"Of course you know," he chastised. "I told you myself when I gave you your orders," he said, none too pleased by the waste of time.

Sarah reigned in her flaring temper; she needed to be completely in control for this. "I know what you have planned," she started again, "and I'm calling to tell you that's no longer an option."

"_You_ are going to tell _me_ what I can and can't do?" He growled dangerously.

"When it comes to Chuck, I am," she wasn't backing down.

"How dare you! I could have you—"

"Uh-Uh-Uh," she stopped him. "Director, I have the cipher remember? You wouldn't want anything happening to it, would you?"

"You're _threatening_ me?"

"No, sir," she replied respectfully, "just reminding you that accidents happen. What would happen if I got nervous and _accidentally_ dropped it and it smashed into a million pieces? You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

Graham was seeing red. "What do you want?"

"Rescind the termination order," she demanded.

"Out of the question!"

"Whoops... almost dropped it," she remarked. "This thing is more slippery than I thought."

He growled in frustration. Graham knew she had him for the moment. "You're going to regret this stunt, Walker," he assured. "Is Major Casey there?"

"Yes, he is."

"Put him on."

Sarah motioned for Casey to come over. He handed off Colt to one of his team and walked to Sarah.

She put the phone on speaker and held it out in her hand. She nodded towards the phone when he reached her. "Casey," he projected into the phone.

"Major, stand down on Bartowski," Graham spoke reluctantly.

"Sir?"

"You heard me."

"Yes, sir," Casey acknowledged. In a move that surprised Sarah, he put his hand on her shoulder and nodded in approval before he walked away silently.

Sarah put the phone back to her ear. "I'll be handling the handover of the cipher." She paused for a moment, then spoke again. "Oh, and before you think of going back on our deal, I suggest you make sure the cipher works before you try to get rid of the only working Intersect you have." Sarah hung up before Graham had a chance to reply. She made her way rapidly down from the roof. She knew she'd baited him and bought some time but Graham would undoubtedly give the order on Chuck again as soon as the new Intersect came online.

**-0-**

Graham slammed the phone down onto its base. Sarah Walker had just ended her career and Chuck Bartowski would be dead as soon as the new Intersect was online. After one of his agents blew up the first Intersect on his watch, he couldn't afford another screw up. He would be there in person to make sure things went smoothly. As soon as his agents downloaded the Intersect successfully, he would make sure Walker and Bartowski were taken care of.

**-0-**

_September 29, 2008_

_7:30 pm_

Sarah was a bag of mixed feelings as she approached their apartment. She was feeling a great sense of relief. She had been getting things ready for them to run ever since leaving the warehouse the previous day. In fact, she was in the middle of picking up the car they would be using when she got the call. It wouldn't be necessary now, Chuck was safe. Safe from his own government, she corrected. Fulcrum would still be after him, and that was where her feelings of fear were coming from. Adding to everything else, the loss of Graham was affecting her more than she expected. Not enough for tears, but she owed him. If not for him, she didn't know where she'd be, probably still pulling cons, and definitely not with Chuck. Yeah, she owed him and he didn't deserve to go out that way.

She walked into the apartment to find Chuck sitting on their couch playing some game. "Chuck, we need to talk..."

**-0-**

_September 29, 2008_

_7:34 pm_

"Are you okay?" He asked after she had told him the news.

"Me?" Sarah was surprised by his reaction. "Chuck, I should be asking you that. I know how much you wanted this to be over, to be done with the spy life, to be normal again," she contended.

He sighed and took a hold of her hands. "Yeah, that is what I said when I first started doing this with you guys," he agreed. "But you know what? I was right the first time: normal _is_ overrated."

Sarah smiled. She remembered when he'd said that to her months before, outside the Buy More. "What are you saying, Chuck?"

"I'm saying, bad guys shooting at me all the time aside," he started, "I've never been happier than I am now. I'm making a difference here, Sarah," he stated. "I'm not just going through the motions anymore and I actually like what I'm doing now," he explained. "And, best of all, I have you by my side." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "I know this isn't a game but I'm still the only Intersect and I'm willing to do what I can to help," he finished.

"You're a really good man, Chuck," Sarah spoke, resting her forehead on his, one hand on his shoulder, the other gripping his neck. "I promise you, we will find a way to take that thing out of your head," she assured him. "In the meantime, since it looks like we're going to be at this for the foreseeable future, I think it's time you got some training."

"I'm going to learn how to fight like you and Casey? Cool!" He exclaimed.

"I wouldn't get too excited if I were you," Sarah cautioned.

"Why?" She could feel him scrunch his brow in confusion.

She leaned back to look at him directly. "Casey and I will both be training you," she clarified. "That means I may take it easy on you because I'm your girlfriend, but what do you think Casey's going to do?"

"Oh." Chuck's face fell. He was sure Casey was going to get some sick pleasure out of this.

"Don't worry," she said as she pushed him back on the couch and hovered over him. "I'll be there to make sure you get rewarded for your efforts." She leaned in beside his ear. "Get ready for a little preview..."

* * *

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_**Author's Note:**_ My head was pounding for a few days but I'm better now, hence this chapter. You may have noticed, I used some lines from the episode, just because I really liked them.

In case you're interested:

If you go to SpoilerTV, under their _Chuck _section, there's an article called _NBC - The story of a downfall._ It gave me a new perspective on _Chuck_, as well as the network as a whole: it's not pretty.


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